Holten

As the Dutch countryside passes you by on the train to Holten, it is hard to believe that The Netherlands is the second most densely populated country in Europe(behind Malta). Most of the time when I have been been in the Netherlands I have been in Holten, a town surrounded by beautiful countryside.

Holten is a town of 10,000. As someone from Australia it would be hard to believe that there are 10,000 people living there as you pass by. But there are and most of the houses in the town are joined duplexes, meaning it is a compact,but beautiful town.

Holten is a very popular town in the summer months because for the Holterberg and the surrounding Sallandse Heuvelrug National Park, which is stunning. I do have a giggle when the locals talk about going up the mountain as it tops out at 65 metres, never the less, it is beautiful.

In the summer months Holten's numbers swell with holidaymakers. The town is well serviced by camping parks.  It is popular with hikers, runners, cyclists and nature lovers.  As a runner it is sensational. You have a beautiful mix of running  and cycling paths that go through the beautiful forest. You can choose whether you want to stick to the narrow, asphalt tracks or the dirt ones that often run parallel with them. The main paths are very well marked out with signposts and a lot of the paths are intersect like a grid. Of course you can take the winding walking and mountain bike paths. These eventually wind their way back to the main tracks, so you don't get too lost.

Related - Running Levo

Holten is also famous for the Canadian War Cemetery which is situated in the forest just out of the town centre. Over 1800 soldiers, mainly Canadian soldiers are buried there. Canadian soldiers helped liberate the Netherlands in World War II. Two Australian soldiers are buried here. There are a number of ceremonies at the cemetery during the year and locals take part in looking after the tombstones.

Oh and the locals are extremely friendly. I have visited 3 times now and the last 2 times I have stayed with a very generous family who looked after me on my first trip there when I did the Holten Triathlon in 2002.

Paris to Amsterdam on Thalys Train

Travelling between cities in Europe by train is a pleasant experience compared with the ridiculously slow speeds that Australian trains go. By booking early I got us a seat in 1st class of the Thalys train for not much more more than a regular ticket. Was it worth it, yes. Heaps more room, unless you were the angry Australian that was across from us who refused to put is luggage in the storage area. He sat with his suitcase between his legs for the 3 and 1/2 hours. The seats were comfortable and we got served quite a lot of food and drinks. Much more than the Business class on the Frecciarossa 1000.

Many European countries have spent a lot of money on renewable energy and you could see this as the train whizzed along at 330kmh between Paris and Amsterdam. There were wind farms everywhere. Yes I think they are ugly and take away from the beautiful landscape, but they are necessary for the environment. Come on Australian government. 

Despite stopping at a few more stations than the regular Paris - Amsterdam train, it still only takes 3.5hrs to make the journey. A change at Amsterdam Schipol and we were on the way to Holten, a small village around 100kms east of Amsterdam. We had to take 3 regional trains to get there. Each train was easy as you just hopped off and walked across the platform to the waiting train.

Holten's population, according to Wikipedia is around 10000 people and is famous for the Holterberg, but more on that another time.  

More On Paris

The Louvre Carrousel and the Passage Richelieu are two lesser known entrances to the Louvre. To avoid long delays these are better alternatives than lining up at the glass pyramid entrance. If you arrive just before opening time you will be inside the Louvre extremely quickly. The Louvre Carrousel entrance is directly off the Louvre Royal Palais metro stop. If it's a day like the one we had (wet) this entrance was a saviour as we stayed nice and dry.

If you want to get a peaceful look at the MONA LISA then head straight to it. It's in the Denon wing, floor 1 room 6. Both times I have been there we have been able to get great photos and soak it up before the crowds arrived. 

We spent a few hours at the Louvre looking at the artwork but the kids started to get a bit bored, especially Sebastian, although he sparked up when we saw some suits of armour. The Lourve is huge and it would take many visits the even come close to seeing most of the exhibits.

We made our way up to Montmarte, my favourite place in Paris. I like the small cobbled streets with the coffee and crepe shops. The square with the artists has a good vibe to it. There are also a few delicious looking pastry shops. The views from up there are quite good to. 

We walked around to Sacre Coeur which dominates the landscape and has a nice view down into Paris. Unfortunately when you get down to the bottom of the hill it is just souvenir shop after souvenir shop, although we did the Griswalds family Paris thing and bought Berets! I did like seeing the older lady with her scooter, especially when I cop a little flack for riding one around at home.

We walked along to Moulin Rouge which was a huge disappointment. The whole area is just sex shop after sex shop. Not the best walk with young kids. I did expect it but not to the extent.

The next day we headed off to Notre Dame. We prepared the kids by letting them watch The Hunchback Of Notre Dame the night before. Sebastian was enthralled and it was amazing how much he had taken in from the movie. As we were walking along passed the Palace of Justice he started saying how that fitted into the story. It was actually packed that day as they were trying the survivor from the terrorist cell that was allegedly involved in the Paris bombing. I was surprised by Kylies interest in the building. In fact it was her favourite thing in Paris. We didn't get to go inside as the line was extremely long, I was a bit shocked. 

We wandered the Latin quarter and had some delicious cakes. Lunch was at a restaurant overlooking the Seine River. Then we headed for the Galleries Layette which has a tremendous rooftop terrace on Level 7. On the first trip to Paris it was an undiscovered hidden gem, which you only ever found out about with some local knowledge. Nowadays it is a bit better known.

Our last excursion for the day was back to the lawns around the Eiffel Tower so the kids could run around a bit. They had fun and accidentally photobombed Gregor Dimitriovs photo shoot. He laughed and said it was fine.

Now we are on the train to Holten, The Netherlands. I'm looking forward to seeing Roy and Anita and the kids are looking forward to having some kids to play with.  

How To Avoid Eiffel Tower Queues.

How to avoid a queue at the Eiffel Tower - simple, get in early. I know, a lot of people want to see the sun go down whilst on the Eiffel Tower or watch the lights come on in Paris from their. If that's the case, book online but just remember that you have to arrive within 30 minutes of your nominated time.

We arrived nice and early in the morning and got took some photos of the tower from Trocadero. The kids were hyperactive, this was the thing they have been looking to the most over the past 6 months. Our arrival time was just after opening time, I haven't pre booked but it didn't matter as it took less than 5 minutes and it wasn't much longer and we were on the top level of the 324metre tower. Milana and Sebastian were in awe of the tower, wanting to know how many bolts and beams are in it. The views from the top are great, it is amazing that Gustav Eiffel had an apartment up there. 

Whilst the views are amazing I was glad we're there when we were as it wasn't too crowded. Even with small crowds it is amazing how many people will just crawl over the top of you to try to get a picture. And don't even get me started on Selfie Sticks. I wonder how IOT's upcoming roam-e flying selfie will fair up there. We made our way down to level two, the kids had some Macaroons and Kylie and I had a champagne - from the kiosk. We had been there a while and when we come across 58 Tour Eiffel. We had a table near the window with a nice view across the river. We wondered from the tower to Champs-Élysées and to the Arc De Triomphe. Kylie jwas a little underwhelmed with the famous shopping strip, in fact she was surprised and saddened by the amount of beggars. My highlight was the Renault F1 car.

Italian Toilet Seats, What's The Go?

What's the go with Italian toilet seats? I love Italy but one thing that annoyed the, um, well annoyed me a lot was the toilet seats. I think it took us to the last place we stayed at to get a toilet seat that was secure. I don't know how many time early on where (especially in the middle of the night) you would thump your behind down on the toilet only to have it move and you nearly nearly fall on to the floor. It almost seems like the plumbers were having a little bit of a laugh at tourists and only tightening one bolt.

I must say that the traditional old squat toilet seems to have disappeared in Italian toilets. I only used one in the time we were there, not that I have a problem with them. Although the very first time I used one I almost ended up in it.

But the toilet pictured above gave me the biggest laugh. It was spring loaded to go up after you've stood up. I had to take a picture for my wife who has gotten fairly upset with my seven year old son and I for leaving the seat up this trip! This picture was taken in an Italian train. I actually found it strange as it encourages men to stand up to take a number one whilst moving. I was alway told that was a no-no on trains and buses and I found out why once in Cannes when the bus driver hit the brakes right at the wrong time. Bit embarrassing.

Venice-Milan-Paris

Originally we were going to catch a sleeper train from Venice to Paris, but at the last minute my wife changed her mind (after booking the accomodation in Paris). All the flights out of Venice were were expensive so we decided to spend a night in Milan after getting some cheap airfares with Alitalia. I really like Milan and it is where I derived my daughters name from, Milana, as it's a special place to me. So I was up for the change of plans.

I went for a run on the last morning in Venice and it was a unique experience. I found my way to St Marks square after taking a few wrong turns and hitting some dead ends. The reward was a very quiet square, which is a rarity. The way home was easier although I pulled up with a bit of a sore ankle from the uneven ground and bridges.

The trip from Venice to Milan was comfortable. We had a bit of a laugh at the expense of the American Tourist who for some reason couldn't see the clear as day seat numbers. She got herself all worked up. Thankfully her son came to the rescue. 

We found our apartment which had a drop dead gorgeous view of the Duomo. Sebastian and Milana loved the bath and couldn't wait to have a bubble bath. It was time then to do some quick exploring. I like Milan a lot hence it is why I named Milana after it. 

The kids thought the Duomo with all its statues was pretty cool and they couldn't wait to get home and research it. They later found out it was 108 metres tall, has 3400 statues and is the 3rd largest church in the world.

We made our way down to the Castle and park, after a detour shopping. Milana and Sebastian got to burn off some energy. 

Being into bikes I took myself off to Bianchi Cycles and Cafe in the evening for a quick look, I would have loved to walk out with a new rig but..... Maybe next time. It is a fairly flash set up over four levels. It has a restaurant, bar, lounge, coffee shop and of course bikes. On the way home I saw a lady on a Vespa collect a pedestrian. Both were OK, but the male was more worried about his suit making sure it wasn't ripped.

That evening we got to watch the street performer sing until about 10pm. He was fantastic. This was the downside of the awesome view, it was a bit noisy.

The morning was gorgeous and did the usual stand up coffee and cakes then wandered through the Duomo. Kids liked the link between the fact that Sant Carlo's crypt was there and it was him and his family who built the palace and gardens on Isola Bella.

As a lover of planes and airports I was happy to visit a new airport, Milano Linate. Although I had been passed it as the Milan International Triathlon occurs just outside its boundary. Being the smaller of the two Airports in Milan and it was a very quick check in and customs clearance. Milana commented, "Is that it!"

The flight on Alitalia was extremely smooth, especially considering we flew straight over the snow capped Alps. They seemed close enough to touch.

Customs at Charles D' Gaulle was also smooth and soon we were trying to figure out the tickets for the train. It kept rejecting our credit cards and would take my coins. It turns out you are not meant to spend over €20 in a transaction. Soon we were on the train which turned out to have a bit of action. A male and female transit police officer were in discussions with a traveller. Suddenly she pushed him and gave him a clip over the head. She was very fired up and had to be restrained by her partner. Would be interesting to know what the man said, I have my thoughts on the general nature of his comments. Anyway they dragged him off the train at the next stop.

Not long after we were at our apartment near Gare De Lyon. Kids were exhausted so a quick wander of the streets to get some food and home. Big couple of days.

Beautiful Venice

We boarded our train at the beautiful Milano Centrale and it was a bit of a struggle to find anywhere for our luggage partly because of lack of space but also that the train had come from Geneva so it already had passengers on it.

I was a pretty relaxing trip, one of the things that stood out was around Brescia where all the hills that you could see had stone sections mined out of them. I guess our desire for Italian stone is insatiable.

When we arrived at the station the kids were instantly wowed by the canal. Vaporetto travel is extremely expensive for short trips so we grabbed a 3 day pass and vowed that we would get our monies worth. If you weren't travelling with children you could probably get away with not having one as you could walk everywhere.

As it was the start of the weekend it was very busy but as it turned out it was the weekend of the Vogalonga, which is a non competitive boat regatta which made it even more hectic. Vaporettos were extremely crowded.

Our first stop was the famous Rialto bridge, which was being renovated and it was covered, you couldn't take the obligatory picture on it looking down the Grand Canal. Fortunately I knew this before hand so the disappointment was dulled a little. Although I have been here a couple of times before it was a long time ago and I had forgotten about the little details like the mosaics on St Marks Basilica and the clock building next to it. St Marks Square was busy as usual and it was funny to reflect on my first trip here when we had the whole square to ourselves, it was early morning in winter!

On our second day we did some souvenir shopping at the Rialto Market took another ride down the Grand Canal, which was amazingly busy. In the afternoon we headed out to Murano to watch some glassblowing, which the kids loved. Sebastian wants to be a glass blower now (he has also wanted to live in Rome and be a Gladiator, a flag thrower in Cortona, an Artist in Florence). I swear it was the same glass blower I had 17 years ago, I'll check the pictures when I get home. 

We finished the day with a gondola ride. It was great and Sebastian is now torn between a Gondolier or a Glassblower. He enjoyed being able to wear the gondoliers hat and whistle along with him. It is crazy to think how they were able to build these buildings 600 years ago, let alone do it in the mud. There are over 400 bridges in Venice, my favourite is one of the ones that doesn't have any sides. The ride cost us 80 Euro. 

Our last full day started with a wander down to the Cannareggio canal to watch the boats come in. We sat ourself down at a cafe on the canal edge, drank lots of coffee to keep the shop owners happy and watched the festivities happen on the water. It was a great morning. In the afternoon we headed out to Burano, a famous fishing village that also specialises in lace work. The houses are all painted colourfully. The story has it they did this so they could identify their house on foggy days. It was spectacular, as was the lean on the bell tower! It was a shame that we couldn't stay longer.

The trip home ended with the good wife and I not really talking as we both blamed each other for getting on the wrong ferry and probably adding over an hour to the trip home!

We stayed in the Cannareggio area, which I can highly recommend, it is a lot quieter and is more of a residential area so you get a better feel for the place.

Running Levo

I started my day with in a rewarding way by running up to Levo.  It is 6.5km up to Levo and all up hill and steep.  I started up with phone in hand, having ridden up there a number of times on the way to Mottarone, I knew how beautiful it can be. Half way up the view had disappeared as I was surrounded by clouds. I contemplated turning around. I thought it wasn't going to be worth going through the pain and possibly having very sore legs by continuing up, but alas thankfully I kept going. 

Suddenly I was on top of the clouds and the mountain tops that had been covered for days revealed themselves. Many of them were covered in snow. Even though I could no longer see Lago Maggiore below I had decided it had all been worth it just to see the mountain tops this way. 

As I continued the cloud and fog started to disperse. You couldn't wipe the smile off my face as I could see the beautiful lake, Islands, Stresa and Verbania below me. I finally made it to Levo with a few early bird locals giving me a bemused look. I stopped at the cool little drinking well, had a quick drink before the leg pounding return. 

If you were on a bike you would continue along the ridge before tackling the rest of the brutal Mottarone climb.

The way down was fantastic, stopping at a few points to take some pictures. It was a great way to finish what was a little frustrating week with the weather. Oh yeah the legs did ache for a few days.

Isola Bella

Isola Bella- Translation Beautiful Island. It is every bit that, although name is after Isabella, countess of Borromeo. The Islands of Stresa and Verbania were the things that made me go wow many years ago when I visited the area, but it wasn't until this trip that I visited them.

Today was our last full day in Stresa and Kylie was really looking forward to visiting Isola Bella after seeing that the gardens of the Island featured in the Worlds top 10 gardens and after today's visit it is easy to see why.

First stop on the Island was the Palace which dates back to the mid 1600s and we were blown away. The rooms and flooring was sensational but for me it was the grotto rooms that were like nothing I had ever seen. The floor, walls and roof were decorated with small rocks set into concrete. It was just amazing and mind boggling thinking how long it must of taken to complete the rooms (about 6 of them). All the rooms in the palace were filled with art works and relics. Kylie thought the saddles dating back to the 1500s were great. It was interesting to walk around rooms that have housed the Queen Margherita, Napoleon, Mussolini and more recently Princess Diana had visited.

We were lucky that the rain held off and we could explore the terraced gardens with its architecture. Anyone who has seen my house will attest that I am not much of a gardener, but it was easy to admire how much work was put into these gardens. As the island is rock all of the soil was brought in 100s of years ago. I can't believe that it had taken me so long to visit the island. Sorry dad for not going out there when we lasted visited.

The afternoon was spent wandering and of course getting our gelati. The evening finished with our best dinner of the trip at Cafe Torino. It was sensational. Kylie had freshly cooked rabbit and my ravioli was topped of with Tiramisu- yum.  It was a great way to finish our time in Stresa. This area is stunning, it is a pity for Kylie and the kids that a lot of its beauty was hidden by clouds for the majority of the trip. Tomorrow Venice and the kids can't wait to go for a ride in a Gondola, but the bank balance can.

Rain Rain Go Away.

The sound of rain was disappointing when I woke yesterday morning. But what was devastating was when I looked outside and I couldn't see anything, not even one of the biggest lakes in Italy that was only 20meters away. Why so devastating? We had a car booked and I intended to show the family the local sights including driving up Mottarone, down to Lago Orta and down through the valley I used to love riding through. So in the end we decided to cancel the car, no use spending the money and not being able to see Jack Sh#te. Instead we headed to Verbania for the morning. Kylie did some shopping and I walked around in the rain wishing she would hurry up. 

Lunch was back in a little bar back in Stresa and Sebastian loved his Spaghetti Bolognese although he seemed to get more on his jumper than in his mouth. We did some wandering around before having the usual gelato. 

This morning I woke up with optimism, it had stopped raining and there was reasonable visibility. We had decided that today we would take the Lago Maggiore Express  (not a very good description of the speed) to Locarno and get the ferry back.

I had a quick run and the one down side to Stresa is that if you want to have a flat run you almost have to do loops up and down the main drag or brave the road with no edge or footpaths. If they have footpaths around here they aren't in very good condition. Unfortunately by the time I had finished running it had started to rain and clouds had rolled in. We decided to go for it anyway.

We caught a train to Domodossola that rolled passed Lago Mergozzo, a lake I used to love swimming in and through the valley to Domodossola. We then bordered the Lago Maggiore express that wound its way up the mountains and back down to Locarno in Switzerland. Despite not being able to see all of the tops of the mountains the scenery was unbelievable. There were many sheer cliff drops and valleys, plenty of rivers and waterfalls and numerous small mountain villages. Some of the houses were so remote that they seemed to have a cable line across a huge valley with basket attached. At the border Swiss border patrol boarded the train, they didn't bother to look at our passports, they just saw that we were Australian and kept wandering, they did however give the German couple behind us a good grilling.

Lorcano was a nice town, unfortunately we didn't get to really explore as much as we would like because of the weather. I had forgotten how expensive Switzerland was, our Maccas lunch (I know we shouldn't have eaten that junk) cost the same as $57 Aus. We found an awesome chocolate shop and spent up. Sorry none of it will be making it home.  We wandered some more and we aghast at some of the prices for shoes etc. 

We jumped on the ferry for the slow 2hr trip home, pity the hydrofoil wasn't going at the time we need it. No passport checks on the way home. The fog was probably worse on the way home. I was disappointed for the family as I know how beautiful the area is and it was a shame they couldn't see it in all its glory. 

Turning 40 in Style

After being shown the ropes by our AirBnB owner Rosanna we wandered along the lake as they had a market on showcasing food and produce from the Piedmont region. We fell in love with some local salami and ended up going through that on the first night, luckily the market was still going the next day and we bought more. 

We walked down to where the cable car used to run from (it is getting repaired and should be operational again by July), along the way getting some great snaps of the 3 Borromean Islands, Isola Bella, Madre and Superiore.

The cobbled town centre was the next destination on our wanders. It is a beautiful little area of narrow streets filled with restaurants, shops (particularly clothes and leather goods) and of course Gelaterias. Straight away we found our favourite Gelateria. If you wander the back streets more you can find out more of where the locals hang out playing bocce. 

The next day was Kylie's 40th and of course Mother's Day. It was great to look out across the lake from the comfort of the bed. Here in Stresa they were having the I Love Mumma festival in the pedestrian centre of town. It seems every where we have gone we have come across a festival.

For lunch we headed out on a ferry to Isola Superiore or as it is now known, Isola Pescatori. It is only a small island that is cram packed with lakeside restaurant and hotels. We booked in to one of the highest rated restaurants on trip advisor, Hotel Belvedere restaurant.  Whilst the meal was good I didn't find it as spectacular as I was hoping. But the views are amazing. The highlight for the kids were the fact that there was a cat wandering around and also when the lady on the table across from us spilt red wine all over her partner. Thankfully he had a sense of humour and laughed along with the kids. 

That evening we headed back into the town centre and they had a number of singers performing outside some of the restaurants. We ended up drinking beer and cocktails on the street (oh how much more relaxed the liquor licensing is here) whilst the kids danced around the some classic English songs. It was a nice way to end Kylie's 40th.

Onto Stresa

I had two excited kids who were looking forward to travelling from Florence to Milan on the new Frecciarossa 1000. Check out the Trenitalia Frecciarossa 1000 HERE  According to claims it is capable at travelling at 400kph but is still waiting for signalisation upgrades across the Italian lines to do this.

We arrived at Florence Santa Maria Novella station and nowadays they don't seem to tell you what platform it the train is leaving from until it is just about to leave. That way they can group you together and check your tickets before you get on the platform instead of on the train. 

We lashed out a bit and got seats in Business Class. If you book early enough you can actually get business class seats at the same price as standard seats. The train was nice and new and the carriage was roomy and quiet, but all this didn't help it get off on time. Grrr

Once we were underway the Tuscan countryside whizzed by at 300 kph. Every time Sebastian tried to get a photo of the speed over 300kph it would disappear off the screen like they wanted to keep it a secret how fast we were going. It was a remarkably smooth ride.

It would be fantastic if we had trains that travelled this fast in Australia. Imagine the growth of regional centres like Bendigo or even Shepparton if it was possible to get to Melbourne in under an hour. Anyway!!!!

We changed trains at Milan and headed to Stresa which is around 80kms north of Milan. It was great to travel along a train route I know reasonably well and as the train gets to Arona it runs along the shores of Lago Maggiore. Kylie and the kids enjoyed this part of this slow train. 

We arrived in Stresa and headed for the house we had rented for the week. We had rented an apartment on the lake which has sensational views from both bedrooms and the the lounge room. I'm looking forward to Stresa, I love coming to this area.

Florence

Our first morning at our hotel, Mia Cara, turned out to be a hit, especially with the kids.after having some great Italian breakfasts this one had the works. Sausages, scrambled eggs, fried rice, cates, poached eggs, cereal and all the Italian stuff that we had been having. But the kids loved the fact there were smarties.

We headed off to see Michelangelo's David. We lined up for about 90 minutes. The Accademia was how I remembered it, small. The kids did love David, but they couldn't care too much for the rest of it. Kylie thought the statue was good but wasn't sure it was worth the wait. 

We then went the wrong way on our walk up to Piazza Michelangelo, which was a good thing because it was going to be too long of a walk for the kids. We headed back to the hotel for some down time. After which we headed to a small nearby park. It had a small lake so the kids enjoyed running a few laps.

Today started with a big breaky again and then we caught a bus up to Piazza Michelangelo. There are some great views of Florence and we were pretty lucky it was reasonably quiet. We jumped on the bus again and went down to the Bomboli Gardens. These we quiet good and a lovely view from the Porcelain display Villa. Dan Brown goes into the History of the gardens a little in his book Inferno. We ended up in the Petit Palace, which is a pretty grand place. The locals had fun stirring Sebastian about the Juventus jersey he bought

We had dinner at a restaurant along our street and as it turned out the family next to us were from Melbourne. They live just around the corner from where Kylie used to live. On a whole Florence has been tough to enjoy with the kids as they aren't really into the artworks.

Stresa tomorrow, yay

Onto Firenze

I woke sore from yesterday's run but I wanted to find Bramasole, the villa that Frances Mayes bought and renovated, that lead to the book and movie, Under The Tuscan Sun. I found it and it is very easy to see why she fell in love with the villa and the view. 

We had our final breakfast and had a wander past our favourite sites before catching the but to Camucia and then the train to Firenze (Florence). I think the kids were over looking out the window and were happy to play the iPad. 

Our first destination after checking into our hotel was the Duomo. Along the way we found some markets. We got Milana into bargaining, but I must say the they weren't as much of a push over as I remembered. The kids found the vendors a bit off putting the way they tried to get you in to buy. We just told them that this is a good practice for Hong Kong in a few weeks.  The kids were wowed by the Duomo, but less enthusiastic about the crowds. It seemed a lot busier than Rome. We wandered past the Uffizi Gallery and the lines were huge. The river Arno awaited us next and of course the Ponte Vecchio. Whilst it is impressive, it wasn't as impressive as I remembered. The streets here seem much cleaner than in Rome and the crowds a lot more arty. It was nice to be able to wander around. Last time here I was rushed from leather factory to leather factory and saw hardly anything.

Cortona Day 4

I started my day with a run up to Torreone and the Medieval Castle at the top of Cortona, I took a turn down a road I had seen people running along earlier in the week and I am glad that I did. It was a beautiful loop and after running 4kms up hill it was nice to have a kilometre or two of flat ground. My legs will be sore tomorrow with a tough decent back to the town. 

As a family we took a walk down hill to the cemetery. It was a walled cemetery where the locals obviously because it was kept in excellent condition and many of the graves adorned with flowers. We continued down to the church of Santa Maria Nuova. There was a small tourist group doing yoga.

We had lunch overlooking the Valley. As I mentioned earlier it is a view you could never get sick of. The kids loved the little playground we found. We continued along passed the park and walked along a kilometre long avenue that was closed to cars. It was a beautiful and after running uphill this morning I wish I had of found it earlier, it would have saved my legs. We found the pool and tennis courts at the end of this avenue.

We finished the afternoon at the gelato store and ate it sitting on the steps. We had an interesting dinner. The host was very friendly but after the fact we didn't spend much on dinner he wasn't as friendly. It was nice but not as nice as the other night.

Cortona Day 2/3

The weather looked ominous as we woke after our first night in Cortona, the clouds loomed and we  had a few drops of rain. We headed out and wandered up the hill towards the church at the top of Cortona. Along the way we walked along a beautiful path just inside the town walls. It was lined with trees and had cobbles with a small stone path along the middle. When we arrived at the top there was a special service as the had lolly stalls and there were cars strung down the hill for a kilometre. 

We ate lunch on a look out and found a park for the kids to burn off some energy. We spent the rest of the day exploring the beautiful village with such fantastic views. Every time you get to the town walls you are greeted with panoramic views over Tuscany and Umbria. For dinner we found a sensational, friendly restaurant. The kids voted it the best meal of the holiday so far.

This morning I was woken with a complete white out. It was raining and you were lucky to see 20 metres ahead of you. Not good when you have a car hired for the day. I caught the bus down to Camucia and finally found the car rental place. The man there was, um, interesting to say the least! He was in for a chat (even though I just wanted to get going) and told me how good Australians were but didn't like Americans or Poms! So for the first time in 14 years I was faced with challenge of changing gears with my right hand. 

After picking up the family we headed to Castiglione Del Lago for a look around (and relive the old days). It was still as beautiful as I remembered it. We were fortunate enough that the rain had cleared and the sun was coming out. We grabbed a few pics before heading towards Montepulciano. Kylie loved the drive and got a few pictures as we went. Everywhere you looked there were stunning villas on top of hills and a lot of old farm barns ripe for the renovation- oh to have the money. 

We arrived in Montepulciano and parking was stressful. The car parks are so tiny, I had to let the family out before parking it as it was too hard to open the doors safely.  Montepulciano is similar to Cortona with a great view back to Castiglione Del Lago and Cortona. 

After a quick bite we headed in search of the white road with the cypress tress that features in many movies. I had researched it beforehand and with the help of Google Maps we found the exact spot to take the photo. Although it wasn't full sun it was pretty good, especially compared to what it had been in the morning. 

Driving home we decided to take the Autostrade, it's always entertaining. Despite the 110km limit they just fly along. The impressive thing is how accommodating they are, if someone is in the fast lane and a faster car comes along, they get out of the way pretty quickly. Along the way we saw one of the Italian's huge AutoGrill (service area). I remember visiting this one about 17 years ago as it straddles both 4 lanes of traffic, we had a bit of a laugh that day and stirred up a few of the local gypsies. I must say that being on the Autostrade was nice as the other roads were in atrocious conditions. Extremely dangerous and in need of repair.

We arrived home and headed straight for Gelateria Snoopy. The kids were looking forward to it after having a Gelato free day yesterday, although I might know one person who snuck out and broke the agreement. 

Goodbye Rome, Hello Cortona

It was sad leaving Rome after a great 5 nights. We headed to our usual breakfast haunt and were devastated to find it closed (Sat Morning), we went somewhere else but wasn't the same. Even sadder was that when we headed to the station it was open! 

We jumped on our train at Rome Termini, thank god I didn't have the bike, our platform was 1east, the further platform. It was beautify train ride with all the hilltop villages. The train was crowded and we were lucky to get a seat. Thankfully for Kylie lots of people got off at Orvieto as she wasn't enjoying travelling backwards. We originally planned for a day trip there but ran out of time

The ride up to Cortona was interesting with our Taxi driver telling us some of the history of the town and how it dates back to 600BC. We pulled up at our hotel, Hotel San Luca and the view was breathtaking. It looked down over the valley and mountains through to Lago Trasimeno. It's a little bit special for me as I had a win there back in 2002. Gee how time flies.

The town of Cortona is sensational and I couldn't help looking at the Real Estate agencies and dreaming. You could just walk for Hours through the maze of laneways and stairways. We sat on the steps in Piazza della Repubblica and ate lunch. Then a hive of activity started around us. We asked what was happening and all we could understand was that it was starting at 4pm. 

We returned then to find a fantastic ceremony, where representatives from different areas of the town marched in to drums carrying their flags. They then had flag throwing and blessed candles from each area. We considered ourself lucky to come across it and have front row viewing. 

It was a very special day. Oh the gelato at Gelateria Snoopy was delicious - thanks Taxi driver for the tip.

Trastevere

The day started at our usual breakfast haunt, it's a tight little bar right next to the Ottaviano Metro station. The girl there can speak English but she lets me speak my broken Italian.

We headed to Trastevere, which is an area of Rome on the river. It is full of tight lane ways with plenty of cafes and boutique shops. We passed a school which Kylie would have loved for to go in and visit. Obviously it was a tight little school with not much playground and some of the kids were playing in the laneway and that was the designated yard duty area for some of the teachers. We visited two spectacular churches.

Our kids needed some playtime themselves so we headed up the hill that I had ran up earlier in the day to give them some space to throw a ball around. On the way up we came across an almost abandoned alley way that had all these doors, almost like vaults. On each door was the painting telling the story of Jesus' crucifixion.  We also passed a beautiful fountain that I had photographed earlier on my run. Whilst there a bird pooed on Sebastian, this was the second time it has happened. The area at the top of the hill provided more great views of Rome. The kids enjoyed some freedom and ran around.

We ventured back down to explore the laneways further. They had a lot of buildings with vines growing down them and they looked fantastic.

Lunch beckoned and we headed back to a restaurant near our hotel. The kids eyes were bigger than their stomachs and they tried a pizza each. In the end I had to try to finish theirs (unsuccessfully I may say). The waiter gave Kylie and I a shot of Limone Liquor' to wash down lunch, sh%t it was strong.

After lunch the we decided to go on a tram ride around Rome, but the kids we a bit bored so we got off and caught the metro home to start organising for our trip to Cortona tomorrow.